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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23092801">Por la Familia</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loreak/pseuds/Loreak'>Loreak</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol, Breakfast, Canon Compliant, Friendship, Fun, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Italy, Monastery, Other, Palawan, Party, one shots</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:22:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,387</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23092801</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loreak/pseuds/Loreak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots exploring the gang's life during the preparation for the second heist. </p><p>So far: Tokio making a scene during their first breakfast together in Palawan and the girls having a party in the monastery (a bottle of whiskey and lots of dancing included).</p><p>New: A bonding moment between Raquel and Helsinki.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Raquel Murillo/Professor | Sergio Marquina</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>282</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. New Acquaintances</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This work was formerly called "A Night Off" which is now chapter two in this fic.<br/>I never intended to make this a multi-chapter work but I wrote a thing a few days ago which kind of fits the character of "A Night Off" so I thought I would add it to this work. "A Night Off" is now chapter two so that the events are still listed chronologically. I hope I am not confusing anyone. 😂</p><p>This is probably going to be a collection of one shots exploring the gang's life in preparation for the second heist.<br/>It's not supposed to be a whole story, more like bits and pieces of their life together, so the chapters can stand on their own.<br/>Most chapters will likely be about Raquel because she's my favourite but let's see where this heads, I'm open for suggestions.</p><p>Also, I won't be uploading regularly as long as I am still working on my fic "Is This a Crime?". Feel free to check that out, if you like! :) </p><p>Last but not least, I want to emphasize how much we authors love reading your comments and opinions. Please let me know if you liked what you read, even if it's just a simple "I loved it." </p><p>❤️❤️❤️</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's the gang's first breakfast together in Palawan and Tokio loses her temper (of course).</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this chapter a few days ago and I didn't like it - it was supposed to be about the gang learning how Raquel and Sergio got together but then it developed into Tokio making a scene. I don't know what happened, that girl is just unpredictable. 😂 Basically, I couldn't stop her from doing that and now I am left with this one-shot. I didn't want to post it but my best friend urged me to, so here we go. </p><p>The gang will have to wait for another time to find out what happened between their beloved professor and the inspectora. </p><p>Enjoy 😊</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Knock, knock”, a voice whispered from behind the wooden door.</p><p>Tokio looked up, startled, and a second later Nairobi entered the room.</p><p>“Were you asleep?”, she asked quietly as she saw Tokio’s weary expression.</p><p>Tokio shook her head and scooched over to the other side of the tiny mattress. “No, I’ve been up for two hours. Can’t sleep.”</p><p>Nairobi squeezed herself onto the empty spot beside Tokio and pulled the blanket up to their chins. It wasn’t cold in Palawan – strictly speaking, the heat was exhausting - but cuddling with your best friend always required a proper blanket to snuggle under.</p><p>“I’ve missed you, tía”, Nairobi sighed und buried her face in Tokio’s neck. “How are you holding up?”</p><p>Tokio indulged in the smell of Nairobi’s hair for a moment. Had it really been more than two years since the last time they saw each other?</p><p>“I don’t know.”</p><p>Nairobi stayed quiet and waited for her to continue.</p><p>“I’ve really fucked up this time.”</p><p>Outside, a bird was chirping its morning chants, mocking what Tokio had just voiced out loud.</p><p>“If I hadn’t decided life as a millionaire on a private island wasn’t adventurous enough we would still be there. He would be with me right now.”</p><p>“Regret won’t get you anywhere.”</p><p>“I know,” Tokio sighed. But knowing something is an entirely different thing than feeling something. And she couldn’t help but feel guilty for Rio’s predicament.</p><p>Nairobi seemed to read her thoughts. “No, you listen to me”, she said, supporting herself on her elbows and Tokio knew one of Nairobi’s big life lectures was coming up. “You are a free woman. You are allowed to go wherever you want. He gave you that satellite phone. He called you. He took that risk.”</p><p>“Maybe.”</p><p>“We will get him back.” Nairobi’s voice turned softer again. “I promise.”</p><p>Tokio gratefully accepted the comfort. “Thank you.”</p><p>“So, Palawan, eh?”, Nairobi stretched her limbs. “Who would have thought the professor would choose a beach of all places to retire? To be honest, I couldn’t picture him doing anything else than sitting alone in a musty library.”</p><p>“Dito. Emphasis on the alone part.”</p><p>“I was going to ask you.” Nairobi grinned. “What’s up with that? The professor and the inspectora?”</p><p>Tokio lifted her shoulders. “I was as surprised as you are.”</p><p>“So? Tell me more!”</p><p>Tokio raised the blanket to get up and proceeded to collect a few of her clothes that were spread across the guest room.</p><p>“I actually don’t know much. The professor brought me here, then suddenly she showed up at the beach and gave me a lecture on how she switched sides and that her name’s Lisboa now.”</p><p>Tokio spat out the name with disgust. She didn’t mention the part where the former inspectora slapped her across the face. She would rather not relive that experience.</p><p>“What else?”, Nairobi dug deeper.</p><p>Tokio shrugged. “Her mother and her daughter live here too.”</p><p>“I haven’t seen them.”</p><p>Tokio pulled out a pair of trousers from under an armchair. “Me neither. They sent them on a trip so they could sort out a few issues on their own but they should return today.”</p><p>Nairobi played with a strand of her hair. “How the hell did these two end up together?”</p><p>“I don’t know, Nairobi”, Tokio sighed and put on her top. “And I don’t want to know.”</p><p>Nairobi raised her eyebrows. “What have you been doing these past days? Didn’t you guys talk at all?”, she asked blankly.</p><p>Tokio averted her gaze. “I have been keeping my distance. They spend a lot of time in his office.”</p><p>“So?”</p><p>“So what? I don’t like the professor being with her. They call each other Sergio and Raquel and it’s weird as hell. I don’t like her.”</p><p>“Didn’t you say yesterday that she was one of us now?”, Nairobi asked.</p><p>“I was trying to grin and bear it.” Tokio breathed out loud. “We’re going to leave soon anyway. And then everything will return to normal, right? The professor being the professor again and not some love-drunken softie.”</p><p>“So she’ll stay here?”</p><p>Tokio shrugged. “I thought so. This has nothing to do with her.”</p><p>“Mh.” Nairobi was quiet for a while. “Do you really think she’ll just stay behind? To me she doesn’t seem like the type of person who keeps out of things like these. You even said, she already has a gang name.”</p><p>“Just because you give yourself a city name doesn’t mean you’re part of the gang”, Tokio snapped. “There’s more to that. We’re family. And she – that woman – she isn’t part of that.”</p><p>Nairobi defensively raised her hands. “Alright, alright.”</p><p>She got up and looked outside where the sun had risen now.</p><p>“Let’s see if there’s anything for breakfast, shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>The professor and the inspectora were already seated at the big table on the terrace. There was everything you could have wished for: croissants, buns, different flavours of marmalade and cheese, orange juice, fruit and coffee. As Tokio and Nairobi approached the table, the rest of the gang showed up too – like a silent call had drawn them together at the very same moment.</p><p>The professor and the inspectora were already quite invested in their breakfast but as he looked up he lifted his hand invitingly. “Have a seat, everyone.”</p><p>After they murmured their good mornings there wasn’t much talk at first. The early morning hours and the long travel everybody had had to endure the day before were still gnawing at all of them. Also, this wasn’t a business meeting. Yesterday, when he had needed to convince everyone to join them the professor had behaved differently. Now he leaned comfortably in his chair, a light smile on his lips, his legs casually crossed. Tokio shot a meaningful look to Nairobi. The professor seemed almost… relaxed. She, the inspectora, however, barely acknowledged them. She had nodded at their arrival and was now absent-mindedly sipping her coffee. It was almost rude how casual she was while everyone at the table was obviously observing her, trying to make sense of the professor’s girlfriend.</p><p>The two of them moved in unison. Not quite, actually. It was more of a contrapuntal behaviour. The inspectora’s coffee mug was empty and before she had said anything or even made a gesture, the professor had reached for the coffee pot and refilled her mug. When his plate was empty she got hold of the bread basket and offered him a second croissant. They didn’t even look at each other. They didn’t have to. Their bodies performed complementary movements that together built the perfect harmony. Anyone could see it. Tokio wanted to vomit.</p><p>Everyone was staring and now even Denver had taken notice of the well-oiled human machine in front of him. But the couple was completely oblivious to the rest of the gang.</p><p>As they exchanged a sharp knife in a confident manner without even so much as glancing at each other Nairobi suddenly snapped.</p><p>“Please stop!”</p><p>The professor looked up in shook, completely pulled out of his morning ritual, frantically looking for the source of Nairobi’s sudden outrage.</p><p>“What is it, Nairobi?”, he asked.</p><p>“How?”, she asked loudly. “How the hell did this happen?”</p><p>The inspectora just raised her eyebrows and a hint of a smile formed on her lips.</p><p>“What do you mean, Nairobi?”, the professor asked.</p><p>Nairobi wildly gestured with her hands in the air and the professor followed her movements as if that would give him a clue to why she was suddenly so upset.</p><p>“This! You two! When? How?”</p><p>The professor realized what was happening and, relieved that it wasn’t anything major, leaned back in his chair again. The inspectora was trying to supress a grin. His gaze wandered to her but she only looked at him expectantly as if to say <em>have fun explaining this. </em>Tokio rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Well…Obviously we’re…””, he started but stopped mid-sentence not knowing what to say.</p><p>“Together”, Nairobi chimed in. “I can see that but why?”</p><p>The inspectora put down her coffee mug. “You see, usually when people are together it means that they’re in love.”</p><p>Tokio rolled her eyes again and Denver’s uncanny laugh filled the air.</p><p> “Very smart, inspectora.”, Nairobi smirked. “Helsi, you say something”, she stammered.</p><p>The quiet man chuckled. “It’s true, Nairobi.”</p><p>Nairobi gasped. “Oh come on, you guys! Don’t tell me I am the only one who’s curious about this relationship? You can’t possibly be that unimpressed?”</p><p>Denver only raised his eyebrows and Mónica didn’t say anything, probably just trying not to be disrespectful. Tokio simply shrugged and snatched herself another orange. She didn’t want to spend even one more second thinking about the former inspectora and whatever she and the professor did when they called each other Sergio and Raquel.</p><p>Nairobi leaned closer towards the professor. “Don’t get me wrong, prof, I am very happy for you but we’re all sitting here together, having breakfast and we don’t even know her.”</p><p>“Well, we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other in Italy, won’t we?”, the inspectora replied.</p><p>Tokio’s orange fell on the table. “You will be coming with us?”</p><p>“Sure”, she said and took a sip of her coffee.</p><p>It was quiet for a second. Nairobi shook her head at Tokio but she had already been on edge. This was not acceptable.</p><p>“No way” Tokio said. “I don’t want her there.”</p><p>“Excuse me?”, the inspectora replied and it was the first time that her voice got a hint louder.</p><p>Tokio ignored her. “Professor, she has nothing to do with this! You can’t simply let her be part of the gang.”</p><p>“Tokio”, the professor warned her. “I am sorry that this news has taken you by surprise but she’s been part of the gang for almost three years now. She comes with us. End of discussion.”</p><p>But for Tokio this was only the beginning.</p><p>“How can you even trust her?”</p><p>“We’ve been through this, Tokio”, the professor said. “Let it go.”</p><p>His eyes flickered across the room as usual when he was nervous but his words were clear. He didn’t want to discuss this.</p><p>Tokio smashed her hand on the table. “No. Suddenly she’s supposed to come with us? We don’t even know her! Nairobi is right, we don’t even know how the two of you got together.”</p><p>“You didn’t ask, did you?”, the inspectora said casually.</p><p>“Yeah, well, this was before I knew you would be coming with us.”</p><p>Tokio got up and leaned over the table, dangerously close towards the inspectora. She could sense that the professor tensed. This was not his favourite kind of situation. And who knew which of them would start a physical confrontation this time?</p><p>“So what, you’ll just put on a red overall and think you are part of the gang then?”, Tokio eyed the inspectora.</p><p>She simply raised her eyebrows. “I don’t have to prove myself to you, Tokio.”</p><p>How did she stay so fucking calm?</p><p>“Lisboa is as much part of the gang as any one of you is” the professor said. “Now please sit down again.”</p><p>
  <em>Lisboa.</em>
</p><p>To Tokio’s relief, Denver chimed in as well. “I don’t know. Tokio has a point. We have a right to know what happened, don’t we? No one simply changes sides.”</p><p>All of them looked at Mónica who was rolling her eyes at her husband’s naivety. Denver didn’t realise until she kicked him under the table.</p><p>“Wha- oh.”</p><p>Tokio made a face. So much for proving her point. “That’s different. Mónica isn’t a cop.”</p><p>“Me neither”, the inspectora objected and Tokio gave her a fake smile.</p><p>“So you weren’t a cop when you interrogated me in the tent and threatened me with unrestricted solitary confinement and years and years of prison?”  </p><p>Now the inspectora stood up as well. “Do you want another slap?”</p><p>Her tone was so calm that she could as well have asked her if she wanted another cup of coffee.</p><p>“Go ahead, because this time I will punch you right back in the face.”</p><p>“Ay dios mío”, Tokio could hear Nairobi mutter.</p><p>The inspectora scoffed. “Alright, now you listen to me.” Tokio saw that she was trying to control her voice. She never would have managed that in the heat of this moment. “You came here because you screwed up and want us to help you get your boyfriend back. If I was you I would try to overcome my mindless accusations and take all the help I can get. I realize this might be hard for you to understand but I have my own reasons to participate in this. So don’t you dare to come into my home and insult me again when you know absolutely nothing about me because I will throw you out and you can see who helps you after that.”</p><p>It was completely quiet. The two woman stared at each other, the others watching in anticipation, when suddenly a small figure emerged.</p><p>“Mamá, Sergio, we’re back”, a light voice called.</p><p>Something in the mood shifted and the tension seemed to clear away for a second, like clouds that let in a ray of sunshine once in a while.</p><p>A tiny girl came running on the terrace, embracing the professor in a hug.</p><p>Tokio averted her gaze from the inspectora and watched them. Something about that little girl’s presence made her anger shift into the background. As she watched the professor cuddling the inspector’s daughter, almost as if he was her actual father, Tokio wondered how much she really knew about him. He had a life here. A life she didn’t know and had never been part of.</p><p>Then the girl hugged her mother tightly and proceeded to seize up the guests at the table.</p><p>“Who are all these people?”, she asked.</p><p>The inspectora gently stroked her daughter’s hair. Her expression was so… warm. “They’re friends of Sergio’s, cariño.”</p><p>The little girl’s face lit up. “Oh, then we’ll finally have enough people to play beach volleyball. Do you know how to play?”</p><p>Everyone was quiet for a second. They were probably all thinking the exact same thing Tokio was thinking. Never in their lives would they have thought the professor to have family, let alone a child. They – the gang – weren’t his only family any more.</p><p>Denver was the first to speak. “Do I know how to play? Are you kidding me, I am the best!”</p><p>“Ay, come on”, Nairobi objected. “You haven’t seen me play.”</p><p>Paula giggled. “Perfect. I will get the ball.”</p><p>With that she ran off again. Everyone’s gaze followed her until she vanished into the house.</p><p>Now everybody looked a bit lost. Tokio sighed. They couldn’t just continue fighting now. It seemed like a stupid idea.</p><p>The inspectora was still looking at the door where her daughter had vanished, a pensive expression on her face.</p><p>Tokio swallowed. There was indeed much she didn’t know about the inspectora. What motivated her to leave this place, leave her family, leave that cute little girl that had just rushed out the door?</p><p>Her own words from earlier came into her head again.</p><p>
  <em>I’ve really fucked up this time.</em>
</p><p>Now she felt like an intruder.</p><p>“Sorry,” Tokio mumbled and sat down. She didn’t dare to look at anyone.</p><p>The inspectora didn’t say anything but soon followed her suit and sat down too.</p><p>An awkward silence followed at the table.</p><p>The weight of what they were going to do was starting to sink in. It overshadowed every dispute, every personal aversion. Fighting felt like ignoring what was happening to Rio right now.</p><p>Nairobi was the one to break the quietness. “For what it’s worth, I trust the professor completely.” She looked at him. “Professor, whatever you have planned to get Rio out of there, I will trust you. And I know we can trust your instincts when it comes to people. Hell, you got all of us together.” She turned to the inspectora. “So I will trust you too.”</p><p>The others murmured their agreement and the mood finally recovered.</p><p>“Though I am still curious as hell”, she added quietly.</p><p>The professor shot her a warning look but the inspectora simply smiled as if she was reminiscing in the memories of how she met the professor.</p><p>At once, Tokio could understand Nairobi’s curiosity. Not because she wanted this woman to prove her presence in this group, at the professor's side, but because she wondered how the hell these two opponents became lovers.</p><p>Denver suddenly got up. “Chicos, what are you waiting for, we have a game of volleyball to play.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Night Off</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The professor has left for a heist-related business trip over night. While Raquel is battling with reminders of her past, Tokio and the other women have made plans for the night that involve a big bottle of whiskey and lots of dancing.</p><p>This story is based on one of the promotional pictures for part four (you know the one when you read the story 😂)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were sitting around the big table in the patio, having dinner. At this time of the day the monastery radiated only silence. The Italian sun was beginning to set behind the massive stone columns and a chilly wind announced its presence but other than that everything was calm.</p><p>They had been here for the past two weeks and the severity of their plan hadn’t yet broken in. With the idyllic lifestyle they were enjoying, acknowledging that they were preparing for one of biggest heists of history, presented itself as a difficult task. Here, within the protective and religious walls of the monastery, the world seemed to stand still. Everything was timeless. It was ironic though, because in reality they were participating in a race against time and no one was so sure if they would win.</p><p>While the others were hollering about some stupid joke Palermo had made, Raquel was poking her food rather than eating it, pushing the pieces of vegetables from one side of the plate to the other. Today, Sergio had announced he needed to take care of some things outside of the monastery. He wanted to meet with possible allies and provide important items. Because of the long distances he probably wouldn’t be home until the early morning hours. Raquel had hated to see him leave at dawn, knowing he would still not be beside her when she went to sleep again. She hated that he had to put himself into this dangerous situation – here in Europe, people were more likely to recognize him – but she knew he had to do it in person. He was the mastermind behind it all. He had only taken Marseille with him because he was their outside man. She had wanted to accompany them but he refused, telling her he needed her teaching the group at the monastery. He was right, of course. She still hated this.</p><p>Teaching had been good though. Raquel was glad to see that everyone had seemed to accept her as Sergio’s substitute and keenly followed her instructions. To her frustration, most of the gang members were still a bit reserved when it came to daily conversations. The longer they were here, the more Raquel began to crave social interactions outside of her relationship with Sergio, but she knew she couldn’t really blame them for being cautious around the former inspectora. If the lack of BFFs would remain her biggest problem, things were alright.</p><p>A wave of laughter disrupted her thoughts and she tried to concentrate on the conversation again.</p><p>“Berlin was married five times”, Tokio giggled. “He told Rio during the last heist.”</p><p>Nairobi squealed in excitement and the others laughed at her reaction.</p><p>“He got bored so easily, he always moved right on to his next trophy”, Denver chuckled and Mónica slapped him on the shoulder.</p><p>“Eh, women aren’t trophies”, she exhorted him.</p><p>“Be careful what you say, Denver”, Nairobi chimed in, not without winking at him.</p><p>Bogotá refilled his glass of wine. “Nowadays, you always have to be careful what you say. It’s exhausting.”</p><p>“Well, try thousands of years of oppression. <em>That’s </em>exhausting”, Nairobi countered and everybody laughed.</p><p>Bogotá shook his head. He wasn’t done. “I just don’t think of it that way. Where’s the injustice today? I don’t see it.” He shrugged and took a sip of wine.</p><p>Tokio imitated a yawn. “You’re boring me, Bogotá.”</p><p>“Me too”, Mónica agreed.</p><p>“Me too, me too, me too”, Bogotá mimicked the popular hashtag. “If a woman has been harassed by a man it’s probably her own fault. And if she has been hit by her husband, she probably deserved it.”</p><p>Raquel’s fork fell on the plate with a loud clink. All heads turned towards her except Bogotá’s who served himself another slice of tortilla. He hadn’t even noticed that something was off and that no one was talking. He didn’t know.</p><p>Raquel closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, before acting impulsively. Her heart beat so loudly that she could hear it pulsing in her ears. After a moment of awkward anticipation at the table, she simply laid down her serviette.</p><p>“Excuse me”, she mumbled while getting up from the chair.</p><p>No one said anything when she crossed the patio without turning around. Even when she left the cloister and turned towards the door, there was not a single sound coming from the table.</p><p> </p><p>Outside of the monastery’s walls, Raquel took a deep breath. She looked around, unsure where to go and finally sat down on the edge of the cliff where she could see the sun setting over the hills.   </p><p>She didn’t even know Bogotá that well. For all she knew she didn’t have to give a shit on his opinion. But his words hurt. They cut inside her stomach like a sharp knife and Raquel felt like she was being beaten up by Alberto all over again. Felt the helplessness again. And not just the helplessness towards her ex-husband. People like Bogotá were part of the reason why the system didn’t punish violence against women enough, why no one cared to give their testimonies a second glance. And he probably didn’t even think that any part of what he said was wrong.</p><p>Raquel quickly wiped away a tear from her cheek. This was not the time for anger and sorrow. Alberto wasn’t here. She was safe.</p><p>She kept her eyes on the sun and watched it wander farther down for a few minutes when she heard footsteps behind her.</p><p>Reluctantly, Raquel turned around to see who was approaching. Nairobi, Tokio and Mónica were walking down the path towards her.</p><p>“Can we join you?”, Mónica cautiously asked when they were close enough.</p><p>Raquel nodded. “Sure.”</p><p>The three women perched on the rocks beside her and together they watched the break of dusk.</p><p>“Just so you know”, Nairobi finally said, “Bogotá got his lecture for talking like that about women.”</p><p>Raquel gave her a faint smile and stared into the distance again.</p><p>“I’m sorry that you had to go through something like that”, Tokio said.</p><p>Raquel put a strand of hair behind her ear. “How much do you know?”</p><p>“Just the facts that the professor made us study during the preparation for the first heist”, Tokio admitted. Right. They had known about her personal life before she had even gotten to know them. “That you filed a lawsuit against your ex-husband for ill-treatment.”</p><p>Raquel nodded. “He used to beat me.”</p><p>She could hear Mónica suppress a gasp.</p><p>“You know it’s not your fault, right?”, Nairobi said. “You know none of what Bogotá said is true?”</p><p>“I know”, Raquel replied and absentmindedly tossed a small stone over the cliff. “It’s just hard not being heard. Realizing there are still people who are privileged enough to afford saying things like that without having to face any consequences. Without knowing what it’s actually like.”</p><p>Mónica moved closer and put an arm around Raquel. “We’re here to hear you if you’d like to talk.”</p><p>Raquel smiled at her. “Thanks”, she replied gratefully. “I’m fine though. I just needed to get some distance, that’s all.”</p><p>“Are you alright on your own, with the professor not being here tonight?”, Mónica asked.</p><p>“I think he would have been more riled up than I am”, Raquel chuckled. “I am actually glad he’s out of town right now.”</p><p>“Interesting that you might say that”, Nairobi smirked and stood up. “Could you be persuaded to have a night time aperitif with us?”</p><p>Tokio jumped to her feet and slapped her on the shoulder. “What are you doing? Don’t blow our cover!”</p><p>“Calm down, Tokio. She’s probably totally cool with it.”</p><p>Raquel raised her eyebrows.</p><p>“Come on”, Nairobi said and held out her hand to Raquel. She took it with great curiosity for what was to come and the four of them made their way back to the monastery.</p><p> </p><p>While the others were still talking and laughing in the patio, the four women sneaked into Tokio’s room. She was the only one of them who didn’t share a bedroom. Despite the fact that they had to travel with as few clothes and personal belongings as possible, Tokio’s room was a mess. The bed wasn’t made, there were clothes everywhere, carelessly thrown on the bed, the floor, the chair, and assuming from the amount of plates and glasses on the bedside table, Tokio was one to indulge in extra midnight snacks.</p><p>“Well, I can see now why they’re calling you Tokio”, Raquel joked while stepping over what looked like a three-days old yoghurt with pieces of banana.</p><p>“Careful, inspectora”, Tokio smirked. “Or I might have to ban you from my room after all.”</p><p>Raquel pretended to give her a spiteful look. Then Tokio let herself down to the floor and reached under her bed from where she produced a bottle of whiskey. “Who’s up for a drink?”</p><p>“Where did you get that?”, Raquel asked.</p><p>“Let’s just say not all religious people are immune to bribes.”</p><p>Nairobi and Mónica giggled like two four-year-old girls.</p><p>“You know we’re not supposed to get drunk. We need to concentrate on the plan”, Raquel said with a strict expression.</p><p>When she took the whiskey bottle out of Tokio’s hands, Tokio’s jaw dropped like she was a character in a strip cartoon. Raquel indulged in the view for a second before opening the bottle.</p><p>“I just hope for you that this is any good”, she said and took a big gulp of the liquid.</p><p>Mónica and Nairobi burst out in snorting laughter.</p><p>“She totally got you”, Mónica squealed and Tokio shook her head with a smirk, revenge glistening in her eyes. Raquel was still holding her stomach from laughing.</p><p>“Give me that”, Tokio shouted and reached for the bottle.</p><p>“Come and get it if you’re as good a robber as you claim to be”, Raquel teased and jumped onto the bed.</p><p>Tokio quickly hastened to follow her and nearly dropped to the floor while Mónica and Nairobi excitedly watched the spectacle from the other side of the room.</p><p>Raquel was gasping for air in the face of the absurdity this situation presented and Tokio used that moment to take a leap and throw herself on her former antagonist, immobilizing her with a simple move.</p><p>Now Raquel was lying prone on the bed being kept in check by Tokio.  </p><p>“What would you propose to do now, inspectora?”, Tokio asked playfully.</p><p>Raquel couldn’t suppress her laughter. “More alcohol for everyone?”, she offered and held up the bottle of whiskey.</p><p>“Good choice”, Tokio grinned as she took the bottle and helped Raquel of the bed.</p><p> </p><p>From then on the night only got wilder. And the women drunker. They killed almost the entire bottle of whiskey while dancing to Spanish party songs that Nairobi had compiled in a playlist for this particular occasion. From one point on Mónica and Nairobi started to dress up with random pieces of clothing that were lying across the room, until they were equipped with hats, each a pair of sunglasses and even a hand fan. In the meanwhile, Tokio had gotten so wasted that she wore one of her thongs as a hat and Raquel wasn’t so sure if she was aware of that fact.</p><p>A few hours later they found themselves lying on Tokio’s small bed, exhausted, but happy.</p><p>Raquel thought back at how this night had started. Looking at the three women beside her, her heart suddenly filled with so much gratitude for their understanding and their dedication. She finally felt a deeper connection to the group and their purpose. With a last content smile on her lips, Raquel blissfully drifted off to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>When the sun began to lighten up the room in the morning, Raquel was still tired and buried her head under the blanket again. What woke her up eventually was a loud knock on Tokio’s open door.</p><p>“Tokio”, Raquel heard Sergio’s indignant voice. “I told you and Nairobi not to party when I’m gone. We have a plan to focus on.”</p><p>Oh no. He had probably just returned from his trip.</p><p>Raquel, still under the blanket, heard Mónica giggling beside her. She was still affected by the alcohol as well.</p><p>“And Estocolmo, I would have expected more from you”, Sergio grumbled.</p><p>“Wait till you see who joined us last night”, Nairobi laughed and pulled the blanket away from Raquel.</p><p>Sergio’s eyes widened.</p><p>“Morning, cariño”, Raquel smirked at him, trying to put on a guilty face.</p><p>Sergio groaned and stepped into the room. “Not you too.”</p><p>“Now he can’t punish us”, Nairobi whispered to the others. “Because his girlfriend was part of it and if he punishes her… no fun time tonight.”</p><p>The three women giggled.</p><p>“Oh, shut up”, Raquel said but couldn’t suppress a grin herself.</p><p>Sergio was now standing in close reach to her and in a quick movement, she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards herself. He was completely unprepared and fell onto the already small bed. Tokio pulled him into their middle and he had no choice but to comply because Raquel blocked the way outside. He sighed, trying to make himself as small as possible and stared at the ceiling.</p><p>“Tokio, why are you wearing your underwear as a hat?”, he finally asked.</p><p>The four women giggled.</p><p>“Oops”, Tokio said, took the thong and spun it across the room.</p><p>“Oh”, made Mónica. “I thought it was pretty.”</p><p>It was a funny sight. The professor, fully suited up, trapped inside a small bed, two women on each side of him. He was clearly uncomfortable and Raquel decided to put an end to this situation.</p><p>“How was your trip, cariño?”, she asked while stroking his cheek.</p><p>“Good. It was good.” He cleared his throat. “Everything went according to plan.”</p><p>“Good”, Raquel replied.</p><p>“Professor?”, Tokio said, now suddenly sounding really sober. “Do you think we’ll get Rio out of there?”</p><p>Sergio was quiet for a while. “I hope so, Tokio. I really hope so.”</p><p>That was not the answer that Tokio had wanted to get. But the professor wasn’t one to tell lies about this. In this unexpected situation he could only try everything in his power and hope for the best. And that was all what these five people, lying closely side by side in a far too small bed, could do this morning. Hope for the best.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Birthday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everybody, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please let me know if you liked it. I am especially curious to know what your favourite line was and what you think about Helsinki's and Raquel's relationship! Don't hesitate to comment! &lt;3 </p><p>Special thanks to Ludka for discussing this chapter with me &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Somewhere in the distance, a bird was chirping. It was that kind of chirping that was nice when you sat in the garden on a sunny afternoon and took pleasure in the wonders of nature. It was also that kind of chirping that pulled you out of a blissful sleep in the early morning hours. Penetrative and impossible to overhear. Raquel had refused to open her eyes for the past ten minutes, trying to convince herself that sleep would still be possible, that in fact she wouldn’t have to get up at all today if she just managed to return to slumber again.</p><p>It didn’t work.</p><p>Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, only to find the left side of the bed empty. A second later she had to face the consequence of this circumstance and started to shiver. The monastery appeared cosy but in reality, time seemed to have stopped in the 19<sup>th</sup> century for there were no heaters whatsoever. Thus, Raquel and Sergio had to depend on old-school ways, like cuddling, to keep warm. Close body contact. In a monastery. Oh, the irony.</p><p>Not that she didn’t like being close to Sergio. This was more about principles. And the monks just didn’t seem to get that you had to keep up with the times in order to adjust.</p><p>Raquel pulled the duvet tighter around her body and turned towards the stony wall of their room. From the moment that bird had started chirping Raquel had just known that this day would not be her day.</p><p>She heard a familiar squeaking sound behind her and squeezed her eyes together, knowing what was about to come.</p><p>“Happy birthday to you…”</p><p>Sergio had a nice voice. He rarely sang and even now he tried to keep the volume to a minimum but still, he had a nice voice. Raquel liked hearing it. Today, she didn’t like the reason for getting to hear it though.</p><p>“… happy birthday to you…”</p><p>Raquel grimaced to herself and contemplated what her next action should be. There was no way she would not wake up right now. She was a light sleeper and Sergio knew. She had to turn around eventually.</p><p>“…happy birthday, dear Raque-el…”</p><p>He sang that climax of the melody with an effort that almost counted as enthusiasm in his case. The song was almost finished. She opted to grin and bear it.</p><p>“… happy birthdaaaaaayy…”</p><p>While Sergio added a little ritardando to the last phrase of the song Raquel turned around. He was slightly rocking along to the music, holding a colourful cake with several burning candles on top of it. A light smile appeared on his lips as he caught Raquel’s gaze.</p><p>“… toooo you”, he finally finished and proudly held out the cake to her.</p><p>Looking at that cake, Raquel didn’t know what to say or do. The sight of the burning candles waiting to be blown out suddenly made her heart drop to her gut.</p><p>“Happy birthday, mi amor”, Sergio whispered and his eyes lit up in the most beautiful way. Raquel’s chest hurt as she saw the effort Sergio had made and she realized how proud he was about his surprise. But her mood prevented her from being able to appreciate the gesture even if she knew how damn cute it was.</p><p>He leaned in to kiss her but she barely responded to his lips touching hers. That nasty feeling that had caught up with her ever since she was woken by that bird made her unable to act properly. Everything felt stiff and rigid.</p><p>Sergio pulled back and she tried to put on a smile but his expression gave away that he had detected her lacking enthusiasm.</p><p>“What’s wrong?”, he asked. He looked genuinely worried.</p><p>Raquel shook her head. “Nothing.”</p><p>Talking about it would only make it worse.</p><p>Sergio tilted his head like you sometimes do when you’re about to scold a little child.</p><p>“What is it? You can tell me, Raquel.”</p><p>She sighed and looked at the ceiling. “It’s just…”, she shrugged. “I don’t see the point in celebrating my birthday when I can’t celebrate it with my family.”</p><p>“I am here”, was Sergio’s lame attempt to respond to her complaint.</p><p>Raquel pulled the duvet tighter around her body. Why did it have to be so cold?</p><p>“My daughter isn’t. And my mother neither.”</p><p>Sergio let his head sink down a bit and he looked like a disappointed child. The fact that there still was a cake with burning candles between them didn’t make things better. Raquel felt worse now.</p><p>“I am sorry”, she started. “My birthday is just a reminder that I can’t be with them right now.”</p><p>Sergio thought about that. “We can still make the best of it, right?”, he said and held up the cake, waiting for her to blow out the candles.</p><p>Raquel shook her head hesitantly. “I’m not in the mood.” God, he looked so disappointed. But this wasn’t about him. “I’m sorry, I really am. I appreciate the gesture but I don’t want to celebrate today. At all.”</p><p>“Don’t you want to blow out the candles and make a wish?”</p><p>“No.” Raquel was surprised by the agitated sound her voice had made. She just wanted him to stop trying so hard. She gathered herself and took a deep breath. “I think I am just going to sleep for a little longer”, she said and hoped he would understand.</p><p>“Come on, just blow out the candles. You’ll see, today won’t be so bad.”</p><p>“I don’t feel like celebrating, Sergio, please understand”, Raquel said, this time definitely annoyed.</p><p>“But there’s cake”, he tried again and raised his eyebrows in a flirty way. He didn’t get it and his playful attitude made Raquel aggressive. “It’s your special day and…”</p><p>“Stop!”</p><p>Sergio looked shocked. Raquel figured she might have been a bit too harsh but she couldn’t bare it any longer.</p><p>“Just…” she gestured wildly with her hands. “Just… put out the damn candles and let me be”, she said, readjusting the duvet and laying down in bed again, facing the wall.</p><p>A few unbearable seconds later another squeaking sound signalled her that Sergio had left the room and then the door locked with a click. She wanted to punch herself. Only she could transform a sorrowful birthday into an even more miserable one. She felt the tears creeping up her eyes. This was not what she had had in mind when she had thought she could just grin and bear it.</p><p>Half an hour later, while the others were heaving breakfast, Raquel still found herself lying in bed, looking at a picture of Paula and her mother. She had taken it on one of their very first days in Palawan. Paula had discovered a hidden bay and had been so excited when they had watched the sunset there together, just the tree of them. Raquel sighed.</p><p>A knock on the door disrupted her thoughts.</p><p>“Raquel”, Sergio said and he sounded anxious. “Class starts in ten minutes.”</p><p>Raquel didn’t turn around. She closed her eyes in denial.</p><p>“Just… start without me”, she said quietly. Her voice sounded hoarse. “Tell them I am not feeling well.”</p><p>That wasn’t technically a lie.</p><p>A pause.</p><p>“Okay”, Sergio whispered and quietly shut the door behind himself.</p><p> </p><p>Helsinki loved the chirping of the birds. He was sitting in his favourite spot in the monastery’s patio – a hidden wall between the stony columns which was decorated by leaves and grass. He had abandoned sleep over half an hour ago. For the tiny woman that she was Nairobi definitely possessed a loud organ and it wasn’t the first time that her snoring had awoken Helsinki from his blissful sleep. He didn’t really mind, if only it wasn’t for that eerie religious painting in their room. He couldn’t possibly stand lying there while Christ was watching him attentively so he had decided to flee from his admonishing stare.</p><p>Helsinki put his head back and closed his eyes as the sun announced its presence with a glistening ray of sunlight. The birds chirped happily and Helsinki chuckled in agreement. He was content. Of course, he had been devastated to learn about Rio’s predicament and he was more than eager to reclaim justice. But here, he was as calm as the walls of the monastery surrounding him. Preparing for war was something that had become his second nature. He had fought in many wars and this one wasn’t the biggest – though it might as well be the most important yet.</p><p>A look in the sky showed Helsinki that it was time to go back inside. It was his turn to prepare breakfast and nine grumpy criminals were not to be left hungry – who knew what could happen? He opened the big wooden door to the floor that the gang had occupied. It was still silent in the corridor and Helsinki carefully set one foot after the other, trying to soften his heavy weight on the screeching floor in order not to wake up anybody. The hallway remained quiet though and Helsinki was just about to open the kitchen door when he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eyes. The door at the very back of the hallway had opened and closed again. Standing in front of it was none other than the professor. Helsinki paused as he noticed something must be off. The professor simply stood in front of the door, his posture crooked and insecure. He looked down at his hands which held what appeared to be a cake with several burning candles on top of it. Helsinki narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of the situation. But the professor didn’t notice him, in fact he didn’t move at all. He just stared at the cake, his expression giving off an utterly disappointed look.</p><p>That was curious.</p><p>Helsinki averted his gaze and stepped into the kitchen. Breakfast didn’t prepare itself.</p><p>As every morning, the monastery was a chaos. Palermo and Tokio were once again fighting over who occupied the shared bathroom the longest and Mónica and Denver had trouble satisfying little Cincinnati. Most of the time, as today, Helsinki watched the scene with a smile on his lips and waited for class to begin. Finally, the professor called them to the classroom and everyone got quiet, knowing that what they had to prepare for was far bigger than any dispute or crying child.</p><p>“Good morning, everybody”, the professor greeted them and turned towards the chalkboard. “Today we are talking about…”</p><p>“Wait, Lisboa isn’t here yet”, Denver interrupted him.</p><p>Helsinki raised his eyebrows. Right, where was she? He hadn’t noticed at first that the inspectora wasn’t positioned in her usual place behind the professor. He hadn’t seen her at breakfast either.</p><p>The professor adjusted his glasses. “She isn’t feeling well this morning. We’re starting without her.” He turned to the chalkboard again.</p><p>First the cake, then Lisboa’s absence?</p><p>The professor began to explain something about military troops and Helsinki quickly drew out his pen in order to take notes.</p><p>Close to lunchtime everyone was exhausted and even the professor realized it didn’t make sense to carry on teaching when nobody was listening – Palermo had started crumbling his notes into tiny balls and throwing them at people. Helsinki didn’t participate in the secret paper war he and Tokio fought out when the professor wasn’t looking but in all honesty, he enjoyed watching Palermo being silly and teasing Tokio like a ten-year-old boy. Secretly, he wouldn’t have minded some teasing himself.</p><p>“Okay”, the professor said. “That is it for this morning. Let’s have lunch now.”</p><p>Everybody went into the kitchen. Luckily the monks had some kind of religious party yesterday – Helsinki didn’t bother to find out what kind – and generously given the gang their leftovers. There was enough for several days. The hungry pack bore down on the food and soon the only sound filling the kitchen was the sound of munching and cutlery clinging together.</p><p>Then the door opened and Lisboa came in. Helsinki noticed that her eyes were red. She looked very tired. Then again, the professor had said she wasn’t feeling well, so maybe she had caught a cold or simply had a bad allergy.</p><p>She acknowledged the group with a nod and served herself a slice of bread with cheese and only a spoonful of the tomato salad everyone was raving about.</p><p>“Are you feeling better, Raquel?”, asked Mónica as Lisboa sat at the table.</p><p>She gave her a thin-lipped smile. “Not really. But it’s only a migraine, it will probably be gone tomorrow. Don’t worry about it.”</p><p>Mónica nodded. “Well, if you want I could give you some of the herbs I’ve been planting in the garden. They’re supposed to help.”</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>It was quiet again until Palermo finished eating and dissolved the company by getting up and putting his dirty dishes into the sink.</p><p>“Hey”, said Nairobi as he made to leave the kitchen. “Haven’t you forgotten something?”</p><p>Helsinki turned his attention to his food again. Everyday, it was more or less the same thing. The trigger was usually a different one but a conversation between Palermo and Nairobi always ended in the same fight.</p><p>He noticed the professor had been really quiet but now as everyone was more or less occupied with their own business (or fighting for that matter) and the kitchen became noisier he turned to Lisboa.</p><p>“Do you want some coffee?”, he said, holding out the coffee pot to her.</p><p>She shook her head.</p><p>“Another slice of bread?”</p><p>She finished her tomato salad and declined the offer with her hands.</p><p>“Some strawberries?”</p><p>He was basically holding the bowl in front of her nose.</p><p>She gently pushed his hands away from her. “Stop it, Sergio. I’m fine”, she said quietly but she sounded irritated.</p><p>Helsinki thought the professor looked a bit helpless, even more than usual.</p><p>“Raquel”, he started. “Please let me know what I can do to make you feel better.”</p><p>It sounded almost like he was pleading. Helsinki noticed he was the only one observing their talk and he knew this was a rather intimate conversation, but what was he supposed to do? He had just sat here, innocently eating his lunch. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. Couldn’t a hungry man simply eat in peace?</p><p>“There’s nothing you can do but please stop coddling me”, she said and it sounded a bit sharp. Then the scratching sound of a chair being moved backwards cut into the air as she got up and left the room without acknowledging him another second. Helsinki stared at his plate, trying to make himself invisible. The others didn’t seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary but as Helsinki looked up again several seconds later, the professor was staring grimly into his coffee pot.</p><p> </p><p>Afternoon class was dragging on like a chewing gum and the professor finally ended teaching early for today. After that, Helsinki and Nairobi sat in the monastery’s garden, playing cards.</p><p>“Checkmate!”, called Nairobi proudly as she won for the third time in a row.</p><p>Helsinki chuckled. “You don’t say checkmate when you play cards.”</p><p>She shrugged. “I won, that’s all that counts.”</p><p>“Hey chicos”, Denvers voice came from the door. “Have you seen Cinci? I can’t find him.”</p><p>Both shook their heads. “I am going to help you find him”, said Helsinki. It wasn’t the first time that Denver had neglected his parenting tasks.</p><p>“Oh, you just can’t stand losing to me anymore”, Nairobi said and he simply smirked.</p><p>Helsinki started to look for Cincinnati inside. The monastery was full of secret passages and hideaway places, which was especially exciting for a two-year-old. As he entered the corridor to the bedrooms, everything seemed quiet but then he heard someone giggle from afar. He followed the noise until he stood in front of the professor’s and Lisboa’s bedroom. The door was slightly ajar and he nudged it with his fingers so it opened.</p><p>Helsinki had been scared to open this door. It wasn’t that he was afraid of another Jesus portray hanging on the wall and staring at him (well, mostly it wasn’t that), the professor’s room just somehow felt off-limits. It was the professor’s room after all. As Helsinki looked inside he found an idyllic scene in front of him. Lisboa and Cincinnati were sitting on the bed together, making grimaces towards each other. The little guy giggled in response to Lisboa’s expressions and even she laughed like a little child, a laugh Helsinki hadn’t yet heard from her. Suddenly Cincinnati noticed Helsinki and pointed in his direction.</p><p>“There you are, you little gangster”, said Helsinki and made to tickle Cincinnati. It worked far too well. The child was already bursting of laughter before Helsinki had even touched him. Lisboa laughed.</p><p>“Sorry for bursting in”, said Helsinki. He still felt a bit awkward standing in the professor’s bedroom. “Denver had lost Cincinnati and we were looking for him.”</p><p>“Don’t worry”, said Lisboa. “The little guy crawled in here a few minutes ago. I think he was just bored.” Lisboa cupped Cincinnati’s cheek. “Planning heists isn’t really interesting, right Cinci?”</p><p>The kid laughed and both Helsinki and Lisboa chuckled. Her smile seemed to fade immediately though and Helsinki felt uncomfortable. He had never spoken to Lisboa in private.</p><p>He dared to look around the room. It looked almost the same like all the others though it wasn’t far as untidy as his and Nairobi’s dormitory. Only on the bed lay a picture of Lisboa’s family.</p><p>Helsinki could have just taken Cincinnati and left.</p><p>“Happy birthday”, he blurted out before he could think about it.</p><p>Lisboa looked up in surprise. “Has he told you that –”</p><p>“No”, Helsinki hastened to explain. “I saw the professor with a birthday cake this morning. Took a wild guess”, he smirked.</p><p>“Well… thanks”, Lisboa said but she quickly averted her gaze. Her eyes still looked red and swollen.</p><p>Helsinki took Cincinnati, sat on the bed and manoeuvred the child onto his lap.</p><p>“Are you homesick?”, he asked.</p><p>Lisboa looked at him, her eyes narrowed. “You are a very attentive person”, she concluded.</p><p>Helsinki chuckled. “I am a quiet person. I notice things.”</p><p>Lisboa eyed him for a second and he felt a bit vulnerable under her stare. Then she simply nodded.</p><p>This was odd. Helsinki didn’t know what to do next but now that he had started a conversation he couldn’t simply get up and leave.</p><p>“The professor sometimes doesn’t know what to say or do, does he?”</p><p>“No, he doesn’t”, Lisboa said. Then she sighed. “But he means well. I think I’ve scared him a bit this morning.”</p><p>Helsinki chuckled. “He’ll come around.”</p><p>Both stayed quiet for a bit while Cincinnati fiddled around with Helsinki’s beard.</p><p>“I feel so stupid”, Lisboa finally said. “It’s just a birthday. He was doing something nice and I’m too caught up in my self-pity to appreciate it.”</p><p>Helsinki hadn’t expected her to open up so quickly. She was the inspectora after all. Police people weren’t like that, were they? Then again, she wasn’t police anymore.</p><p>“When I was a little child I screamed at everyone coming near me on my birthday”, Helsinki confessed. “I hated the attention.”</p><p>Lisboa laughed. “So I am behaving like a little child?”, she concluded. “Well, I am feeling way better now”, she joked.</p><p>Helsinki chuckled. “Birthdays aren’t for everyone. You’re allowed to feel sad on your birthday. It’s your birthday after all.”</p><p>“Hm.” She stared into the void and then her look drifted towards the picture on the bed. Helsinki’s gaze followed hers.</p><p>“You will see your family soon”, he said but didn’t know if that even helped one bit.</p><p>“I hope so”, she mumbled.</p><p>Both stared at the picture for a while. Then she suddenly averted her gaze and took a deep breath.</p><p>“You don’t have to – “, she started and struggled for words. “I mean… you don’t have to sit here with me.”</p><p>Helsinki hesitated. She was giving him the chance to leave.</p><p>“Hopadopter”, Cincinnati suddenly squeaked.</p><p>Both looked at the kid in surprise and as their gazes finally met they burst out in laughter. She had a warm laugh. It didn’t fit the manner they had talked about her during their preparation for the first heist – cold, stony, merciless. Helsinki felt a bit guilty about it now. He hadn’t known her back then.</p><p>“Hopadopter”, Cincinnati repeated and pointed his finger into the air.</p><p>“What does he mean?”, Helsinki wondered once they had recovered from their fit of laughter.</p><p>Lisboa grinned. “I think he means helicopter.”</p><p>Helsinki turned to the little child on his lap again. “Does little Cinci want to fly a helicopter?”</p><p>“Hopadopter, hopadopter, hopadopter”, was the excited answer.</p><p>Both laughed again.</p><p>“Where did he even learn that word?”, Helsinki asked.</p><p>“Oh, yesterday, the professor let him play with the miniature models he uses to explain the heist in class. Sergio probably gave him a thirty-minute lecture on helicopters and that’s what stuck.”</p><p>Helsinki chuckled. Sergio. He would probably never get used to the professor’s real name.</p><p>“What does the professor need a helicopter for?”, he asked hesitantly.</p><p>Lisboa’s smile faded and her expression turned very serious. “I don’t know yet.”</p><p>Both of them stayed quiet. No matter how funny or engaging a conversation was these days, the heist always seemed to overtake.</p><p>“This is big isn’t it?”, Helsinki asked. “Bigger than the first heist.”</p><p>She swallowed. “Yes. It will be very difficult to pull this off.” She sighed. “But I wouldn’t want to be on the police’s side either. They will have a hard time stopping us.”</p><p>Helsinki shifted on the bed. She had been on the police’s side the last time. She knew the nerve it took to be entangled in something this big. For the first time he actually thought about what it must be like being in that tent. How it must feel having the whole country’s hopes resting on your shoulders. He had always thought about police men as callous beings. But now that he had met a former police inspector, a good one as well, he couldn’t help but wonder. And he had seen her on the opposite side the last time.</p><p>Helsinki cleared his throat. There was something on his mind. “Do you know that I pointed a gun at you during the first heist?”</p><p>She raised her eyebrows and he could see that she was skimming through the memories in her brain trying to figure out which situation he meant.</p><p>“When?”, she finally asked.</p><p>“Must have been on day three or four of the heist. I was guarding the building from one of the windows when you suddenly came storming towards the building. You were so fast that no one really stopped you at first.”</p><p>Realization dawned on her. “Oh”, she made and averted her gaze. “I never knew which one of you was targeting me.”</p><p>So she knew someone had pointed a gun at her. Well, of course she knew, she wasn’t stupid. Still, that meant that…</p><p>“Why did you…”, Helsinki started but didn’t know how to articulate his question.</p><p>She looked at him and smirked. “…run towards the Royal Mint like a maniac?”</p><p>She made a grimace. “It would be an understatement to say that that day was just not my day. But…”, she hesitated. “…let’s just keep it at that for now.”</p><p>Her voice had become quieter with that last sentence and Helsinki felt uneasy. The days of the first heist couldn’t have been easy for her. He realized only now that it had probably been more than love that had made her join the gang. It must have been.</p><p>“I’m sorry I mentioned it”, he said.</p><p>“No, it’s fine”, she assured him. “Thanks for not pulling the trigger.”</p><p>Helsinki chuckled. Yes, thank god.</p><p>Cincinnati had grown impatient on his lap and he was now consistently pulling on Helsinki’s beard.</p><p>“Hey, little scoundrel”, he teased.</p><p>“Do you have children?”</p><p>Helsinki was surprised by the question. “No personal questions, remember?”, he teased.</p><p>Lisboa let out a laugh. “Oh, these stupid rules, fuck’em! Unless you don’t want to answer, of course.”</p><p>Helsinki laughed. So she didn’t approve of everything the professor said.</p><p>“It’s fine. No, I don’t have children. Oslo was the last family I had and now Nairobi has become my substitute family. I couldn’t imagine living without her now.”</p><p>Lisboa smiled at him. “I’m glad”, she said and she looked genuinely happy for him.</p><p>“Cinci?”, Denver’s voice could be heard from the hallway.</p><p>Helsinki picked up the child on his lap. “I better drop this off”, he joked. “Denver’s probably really worried by now.”</p><p>Lisboa chuckled. “Do that.”</p><p>As Helsinki left the room he turned around one last time. “Lisboa?” He hesitated but what he was about to say was true. “I am glad that you are part of the gang.”</p><p>She looked surprised. “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>In the evening, Raquel decided it was time to get up and join the others for dinner. She didn’t necessarily feel better but she would be able to face them and keep a straight face. <em>I am glad that you are part of the gang. </em>That was what Helsinki had said. Usually, she wasn’t questioning her legitimation to be part of the resistance. But today, that was what she had needed to hear. She was essential to the plan and she wasn’t simply here because of Sergio. She was here because she believed in the resistance. And her motives for wanting revenge were just as valid as everyone else’s.</p><p>The weather granted them to have dinner outside in the patio. Raquel had sat down next to Sergio but she was glad that he kept his distance, trying not to unsettle her. Or maybe he was just walking on eggshells now. She knew she would need to appease him, but that was a task for later. Other than that, the dinner went about without any major incidents, even Palermo and Tokio were behaving themselves. Eventually, Tokio went into the kitchen to get dessert, but when she came back she was holding a giant cake. Raquel’s heart sank. It was the cake she had refused this morning. Sergio must have simply put it in the fridge.</p><p>“Jokes aside”, Tokio said. “Who’s birthday is it?”</p><p>“What do you mean?”, Denver asked.</p><p>Tokio put the cake in the middle of the table. “Well, there’s a cake in the fridge and it says <em>Happy Birthday </em>on it so it has to be somebody’s birthday today, right?”</p><p>Raquel shifted nervously in her chair. If they found out the cake had been a gift to her, everyone’s attention would be on her after all. Also, it was rather suspicious to be sick on your own birthday and she didn’t want to face their wonderings and theories about that.</p><p>“It’s mine”, Helsinki suddenly said.</p><p>Raquel looked up in shock. Just as everyone started to get up and congratulate him Nairobi put her hands up.</p><p>“No, no, no, chicos, stop”, she said. “Helsi, are you kidding me? Your birthday isn’t until December.”</p><p>Oh no.</p><p>Now Helsinki was the one awkwardly shifting in his chair. There was no way out of this.</p><p>“It’s mine”, Raquel finally said.</p><p>Utter confusion occupied the dinner table.</p><p>“Why didn’t you say something?”, Mónica asked.</p><p>Raquel shrugged. “I didn’t feel like celebrating.”</p><p>Nairobi stood up. “But it’s your birthday!”, she exclaimed. “Come on guys, a birthday serenade. Happy birthday to you…”</p><p>Raquel squeezed her eyes together and contemplated whether she should interrupt her but it was too late. Denver and Bogotá had already joined in and now the others started to sing as well. Raquel just opted to stare at the table and tried to fake a joyous expression, as you do when you’re enduring being serenaded, but she immediately knew that it was far from authentic. When the song was over, almost half of them had stood up, dancing along to the music and clanking their glasses together in celebration. Raquel felt her heart melt a bit. She hadn’t expected them to celebrate her birthday with such enthusiasm. Now everyone was staring at her in anticipation.</p><p>“Thank you”, she managed to say but it sounded quiet and everyone seemed a bit bemused.</p><p>“Let’s eat the cake then, shall we?”, Raquel pressed out and tried to smile. When nobody objected she proceeded to cut the cake in edible pieces that she distributed around the table.</p><p>Suddenly a sound startled her. Nairobi had stood up and put on some music. A dancing song, to be more specific.</p><p>Just as Raquel was about to object, Nairobi lifted her index finger.</p><p>“Uh uh. You said you didn’t want to celebrate so don’t pride yourself. Maybe I just wanted to hear a bit of dancing music today.”</p><p>She winked at her and Raquel sighed. There was nothing she could say against that. Soon, almost everybody got up and joined Nairobi on the dance floor. The atmosphere was exuberant and with each song, the gang got more enthusiastic. Even Cincinnati performed some impressive dance moves.</p><p>Then a slow song started to play. Suddenly, Sergio who had stayed at the table beside Raquel tapped her shoulder.</p><p>“Would you like to dance with me?”, he asked, holding out a hand to her. He looked a bit shy and, considering her reaction this morning, Raquel couldn’t hold it against him.</p><p>She yielded and took his hand. “I would love to.”</p><p>His face lit up and he helped her up to lead her to the dance floor.</p><p>“Oooh”, made Tokio and Nairobi simultaneously as she saw the pair walk up to them.</p><p>“Oh, shut up”, Raquel countered but she smiled.</p><p>When they started moving to the song Raquel buried her face in his neck and closed her eyes.</p><p>“Do you know how much I love you?”, she whispered against his skin.</p><p>He chuckled. “I think I do. It does help to be reminded once in a while.”</p><p>Raquel snickered and gently pressed a kiss on his neck. “I love you very, very much”, she said.</p><p>He made a content sound. “I love you too.”</p><p>The song ended and a slightly faster melody started to play. Sergio took Raquel’s arms and pushed her away, only so much that they could look at each other and start to dance properly to the music.</p><p>Sergio didn’t like to admit it but he was a good dancer. He just needed to have more courage while doing it. Midway through the song Nairobi appeared at their side.</p><p>“Partner swap”, she announced and within a blink she had snatched Sergio from Raquel and started to guide him across the dance floor. He frantically shook his head, not knowing what was happening and Raquel couldn’t help but laugh at him. When she turned around Helsinki held out his hand to her and they started moving to the music.</p><p>“Thank you for today”, Raquel said after a while.</p><p>The big man looked surprised. “But I didn’t do much.”</p><p>Raquel smiled. “It was just enough.”</p><p>Helsinki nodded in comprehension and they continued dancing together, even trying pirouettes, until the music faced. At the end of the song everybody clapped and their enthusiastic cheers filled the quiet evening air.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kudos and comments are highly appreciated :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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